All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Really having fun on two wheels again - it's certainly a game of figuring out which paths I've run many many many times are bike worthy. lol. Hubs is having fun laughing at (with) me on these new adventures.

 

Most times steep, technical, loose, jumpy. But I also use the same bike on pedal trails what are mellow. About 70/30.
IMO tires should be able to be ridden everywhere, even if it can be a slog on more mellow stuff.
Given the same casing and compound, Assegai/MM are so close in both, it's hard to tell the difference.

Totally. The eebs get DD on the front, DH rear. Don't care about weight, the thing's already heavy and I get assist.
I think the magic is in having a gravity radial in the front, and DH longer wearing tire in the rear. I want all the grip in the front, and longer wear with a lively rear. Hence my fascination with MX right now.

 

I got my new bearings for my Hydra hubs, I didn’t realize how simple of a job that is! Fronts are done and took all of 10 minutes. I’m waiting on the new axle I9 is going to send for the rear. One of the front bearings was very crusty.

 

Pisgah did not disappoint

 

I got out on some super steep and loose stuff around Park City yesterday. It was a great test of the Schwalbe Radials and EXT Era V2.1 170mm fork.

MM trail, ultra-soft/Albert gravity, soft. This is one of the best tire combos I've ever used in these conditions. The MM is so much more confidence inspiring than an Assegai on the front. I was able to reign in speed before big chutes in a way that I've never been able to before on this type of terrain/dirt. The Albert works as a rear for me, where I can break it loose when I need to but otherwise it is supportive enough for railing corners. I upped my pressure about 3-4 PSI with the Radials compared to Maxxis tires (Assegai, DD-maxxgrip/Aggressor, DD-maxxterra).

I think I've finally got the EXT fork setup right as well. It took a lot of tinkering with pressures to get a combo of feeling good and also using an appropraite amount of travel. The first 5-6 rides it would either feel good and use 60% of the travel or I'd get all the travel and it would seriously hurt my hands. I think this was due to too much ramp-up. It's an unusual design with dual + air chambers; one standard air spring and a secondary air chamber that functions in the latter half of the travel to control ramp up. Eventually I figured out that I needed to increase the pressure in the primary air chamber which resulted in the secondary air chamber being a less extreme difference and thus less ramp up. The fork is still quite supple off the top because it has a small coil to help with the initial stroke and it's way more supportive through the mid-stroke than the Charger 3 Lyrik I came from. The increased confidence on the steep stuff has been amazing!

 

haha. the new hydra 2's supposedly address the issue. only time will tell. the 240's are basically bomb proof. I'm running 240 exp. some claims exist of teeth slipping since only one side has a spring. but, i haven't ever experienced that myself. it's been rock solid for my riding. got my girlfriend on a 350. also, rock solid. just went to clean it the other day and it still had really fresh grease. i would be interested to know how the 240 deg runs. but...again, time will tell.

honestly, for the performance, I would argue that hydra's are worth the bearing headache if you're that level of picky with your hubs.

 

DT Swiss is the goat that's why everyone tries to copy them. Ultra high engagement is so 2 years ago, everyone buying hydra was doing it noise or bling, personally not really into either. I only service my ratchet hubs when they start getting loud, there's a clear difference in sound when the grease isn't in play. No perceivable wear to be seen otherwise. ps Molykote DX paste is the same as the "special hub grease" and way cheaper.

 

Interestingly enough, the Hydra 2’s don’t actually address the full issue. The parts I9 sent me essentially convert the rear to a Hydra 2, as I understand it. The I9 rep I was talking to explained what they were sending, then asked how the fronts were doing. I told him they were shot also! The Hydra 2 parts seem to be a new axle and bushing that protect the bearings and possibly a new freehub? We’ll see what shows up in the box. But nothing updated for the front.

 

interesting. all their materials address sealing the internals from the external environment. lol. maybe it's just seals that are the biggest difference. but I thought I read different layouts existed for the hydra2. :shrug:

 

You could very well be correct, maybe the Hydra 2 has a completely different shell so it wouldn’t be something they could ‘upgrade’ like the rear

 

What do you think I could ask for an integrated bar? This one minimal miles-

https://shop.fullspeedahead.com/en/handlebars/mtb/kfx-sic-integrated-handlebar-6010

 

Yeah, those radials make a huge difference on those skidders in PC. Being able to control speed and into some of those abrupt moves and make fast direction changes makes things feel way less sketchy.
I've finally found the right pressures for my tires and F38 w/MRP lift damper. It's fantastic. Tires are leaving claw marks in the dirt through those high compression pump-turn schralps. If the shoulder knobs make it through the rest of the season I'll be amazed.

 

i get access denied on that link. might be my work internet though.

 

What did you settle on? I was pretty happy with my gravity front at 28. I tried as low as 26 which was ridable but a little too soft for bike park smashing. I'm also slightly over-sprung on the front so I'll probably revisit once Ohlins ships my damn spring..

 

I'm running about 30 on the front with the MM trail casing. I'm also over-sprung, just a tad , with a 170mm EXT on an Offering.

 

What have you guys used to pull the crown race off a fork steerer tube? I used screwdrivers in the past but it’s hard not to mar the fork. I’m not buying the special tool, looking for what’s worked for you in the past (ie. I will absolutely set the new race with a piece of PVC).

 

Try this

 

With DD Assegai and Krypto Enduro I usually run 21-22/24-25. The MM gravity and Krypto DH I've settled on 22-23/23-25 for soft-fast conditions.
I'm 145-150 lbs. on a 170/170 Nomad. My usual benchmark is that sweet spot where I'm not dinging the rim while plowing rocks or rolling the tire on high G-outs, but still comfortable on the hands and getting those satisfying casing swirls when really pushing into berms. Though the MM doesn't usually show those.

That MRP damper is interesting. It really requires you to be very active and push into it. Does NOT like a lazy riding style at all. But when you're "on it" it's excellent and requires so little fettling. Uses more travel than I'm used to with air in the top 1/3, but doesn't bottom out if you're using the correct spacers. If you ride aggressively, and hate turning knobs, I'd say it's a great alternative.

Flatheads all day. Slowly working my way around the race, carefully twisting the handle not lifting by pushing down. Never marred the forks.

 

Anyone have an extra chain whip/ pliers and torx wrench (ideally the foldable ones or ones I can’t lose)

 

Good day in the mountains. Overcast and cool, no one out.
Best time of the year.




Dry, dusty, fast, torture for tires.